From Incubation to Integration: Generative AI Adoption Nearly Doubles as Professional Services Reach Crossroads

TORONTO, April 15, 2025 – Thomson Reuters (Nasdaq/TSX: TRI), a global content and technology company, today released its 2025 Generative AI in Professional Services Report. 

The research indicates that professional services are approaching a critical juncture where technology adoption must be matched with strategic integration. Substantial proportions of respondents anticipate GenAI becoming central to their workflows, so organizations face urgent questions about policies, training, client communication, and business models.

The comprehensive research surveyed nearly 1,800 global professionals in the legal, tax, accounting, corporate risk, and government sectors, providing crucial insights into AI adoption and sentiment. The findings indicate that professionals across all sectors increasingly recognize the potential of GenAI, with positive sentiment rising by 11% compared to last year. This growing confidence is reflected in adoption rates, as organizational usage nearly doubled from 12% to 22% in just twelve months, while specific use cases continue to expand across document-intensive workflows, research, and advisory services.

As professionals increasingly adopt GenAI, the need for trusted and accurate solutions becomes increasingly important. Thomson Reuters offers perspectives on how these findings impact customers in different professional industries as they navigate the growing role of AI in streamlining operations, improving accuracy, and driving innovation.

Key findings for Corporate Professionals:

• 95% of professionals anticipate that GenAI will be central to their organization's workflow within five years, while GenAI skills remain mostly a nice to have in hiring decisions
• Despite 89% of professionals seeing use cases for GenAI, 64% have received no training on using GenAI for industry work.
• Corporate professionals exhibit a strong belief in the applicability of GenAI to industry work, with 90% of corporate legal, 92% of corporate tax, and 88% of corporate risk professionals recognizing that GenAI can be utilized in their fields.
• Corporate tax professionals are leading in advocacy, with 75% now supporting the use of GenAI for industry work, up from 60% last year. In contrast, about a third of legal and risk professionals remain unsure if GenAI should be used in their sectors.

Laura Clayton McDonnell, President of the Corporates Segment

“GenAI is transforming business by breaking down silos and cutting through information overload. It is an essential tool for enhancing efficiency and decision-making. With GenAI adoption in corporate tax departments rising to 75%, up 20% in one-year, corporate leaders can now make more timely and well-informed decisions when assessing corporate global expansion, mergers and acquisitions, and the impact of changing tariffs. Additionally, in the legal and risk sectors, GenAI is increasingly seen as an ally, streamlining document-intensive tasks and improving decision-making. Thomson Reuters is proud to support our customers with content-driven AI technology to empower them as strategic advisors and catalysts for business transformation.”

Key Findings for Tax Professionals: 

• Tax firms have seen the most dramatic shift in enterprise GenAI adoption, nearly tripling year-over-year from 8% in 2024 to 21% in 2025.
• 71% of tax professionals now believe GenAI should be applied to daily work, up from 52% in 2024.
• 77% of clients want tax firms working for them to use GenAI, yet 59% of tax firm clients don't know if their firms are using it.
• The top three most common use cases of GenAI by tax and accounting professionals are: Tax research (77%), tax return preparation (63%), and tax advisory (62%).

Elizabeth Beastrom, President of Tax & Accounting Professionals

“What we’re witnessing is a transformation in how tax, audit and accounting professionals view AI technology. This surge in adoption positions the accounting profession as one of the fastest-growing industries for GenAI acceptance among professional services. The data clearly shows that initial skepticism is rapidly giving way to recognition of GenAI's potential to enhance productivity and client service delivery. Firms that aren’t making the best use of GenAI for their accountancy and tax work risk falling behind their peers in terms of efficiency.”

Key Findings for Legal Professionals:

• Usage of GenAI has nearly doubled year-over-year in the legal space from 14% in 2024 to 26% in 2025; 45% of law firms respondents currently use GenAI or plan to make it central to their workflow within one year
• 89% of law firm professionals believe AI can be applied to industry work, yet 48% still lack formal GenAI policies

Raghu Ramanathan, President of Legal Professionals

"It is incredible how quickly legal professionals have moved from skepticism to strategic adoption of GenAI, and we are seeing it firsthand through use of our AI solutions. The legal sector is embracing GenAI not as a threat but as an ally, and this isn't about replacing legal expertise—it's about enhancing it. We're helping law firms through the beginning of a fundamental transformation in how legal work gets done, and firms that develop thoughtful governance frameworks will gain a competitive advantage. The challenge isn't technological but organizational—how to integrate these powerful tools while addressing legitimate ethical concerns unique to legal practice. Firms that strike this balance will define the next era of legal service delivery.”

Thomson Reuters remains committed to leading the way in trusted, professional-grade AI, with highly accurate and curated content, editorial expertise and a deep understanding of the professionals it serves.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters (TSX/Nasdaq: TRI) informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. The company serves professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Its products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth, and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is a world leading provider of trusted journalism and news. For more information, visit tr.com.